E3 is right around the corner, and Battlefield 1 is set to reveal new, highly anticipated information. The game will be going back to World War 1 and the early 1900’s, which is a breath of fresh air since there has been an abundance of current and futuristic era shooters.
However, despite all of the hype, excitement, and anticipation, the game is still a product of EA. The drastic shift in time period doesn’t mean a drastic shift in current monetization of video games. EA has announced that they plan to include both macro and micro transactions in the upcoming Battlefield title. EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, addressed these plans in a recent investor call:
“In Battlefield 1 you will see both macro-monetization-like maps and large-scale content-as well as micro-monetization opportunities. These will be smaller increments of gameplay. Over time what you’ll see from us is elements of gameplay that allow gamers to engage and expand their experience much the way people do with FIFA Ultimate Team today.”
There have already been horror stories about kids racking up multiple thousands of dollars in charges on their parent’s credit cards in the FIFA games, and the thought of Battlefield’s system being compared to that of FIFA should make us shudder. We can only hope that the transactions will be tamer than they have been historically, but like Ubisoft’s in-game graphical promises, that isn’t likely.
